


Where the Flowers Can't Grow

by SasuNarufan13



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Blow Jobs, Drama, Dual pov: Sakura's and Sasuke's, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established slash, Foul Language, Happy Ending, M/M, Not for Sakura fans, Triad relationship, mature content, past character deaths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:07:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28923321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SasuNarufan13/pseuds/SasuNarufan13
Summary: Discovering that Uzumaki of all people managed to capture Sasuke's heart is maddening, Sakura won't lie. But she's not stupid, she'll get over this. Seeing Uzumaki with another man, however ... Now, isn't this an interesting turn of events?
Relationships: Gaara/Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke/Gaara, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto/Gaara
Comments: 72
Kudos: 272





	Where the Flowers Can't Grow

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: So I started this story quite a while ago - like at least three years ago - but I never felt confident enough to write it given the pairing included. After writing Glue between the Cracks however and wanted some self-indulgement (forgive me), I've decided to finally finish this fic. I know the pairing isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea and to be quite honest, I'm not expecting a lot of response to this fic, but it's something I wanted to write *shrugs* Call it a guilty pleasure of mine, if you will.
> 
> If you're not a fan of triad relationships, this is not the fic for you. If you're a heavy Sakura fan, then this fic isn't the right one for you either, sorry.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

**Where the Flowers Can't Grow**

She put away the last clothing item – her pretty green skirt – and stretched her back with a groan, before surveying her room critically.

After six years of studying at university to get her degree as a doctor, Sakura had moved back in her old bedroom. She would have preferred to get her own place immediately but the housing market was a bitch and at least living at home would help her cut down on expenses and she'd manage to save up for her future home. Always look at the positive side of things, mum always said.

She had been lucky enough to score a job at the local hospital and she would start there next week, which left her with one week of relaxing before she would finally really enter the adult life. Before that would happen, though, she figured she might as well take a look around the village and see what had changed in her absence.

Sure, she had come home several times during those six years, but even then her nose had been buried in her books and she hadn't seen more than her garden back then. It would be interesting to find out whether things had changed or whether they had still remained the same.

"I'm going out," she told her mum, who was curled up on the couch, watching some kind of drama with a cup of tea waiting next to her on the table.

Mum turned her head slightly to smile at her. "Sure, honey. Dinner will be at six if you want to eat with us."

"Okay!" Sakura quickly exchanged her house slippers for her shoes and grabbed her jacket. April it might be, but the sky was looking rather overcast and she wasn't taking any chances.

She waved in greeting to some of her old neighbours and then meandered around, no specific destination in mind. The flower shop of Ino's family was still booming business apparently, as she could spot several people in the shop, selecting flowers while Ino's father rang them up and her mother was helping clients choose the right type. Ino herself wasn't present this time, because she had chosen to go to the beach with some old friends for two weeks. Sakura had briefly considered joining them, but travelling there would take at least a day and she wanted to be well rested when her job started next week.

Well rested and Ino had never gone well together. She loved the girl like she was her own sister, but she was definitely not the right company to be around if one wanted to actually get some rest.

Concealing a snort, she continued her way, nodding and smiling at Iruka, one of her old sensei. He had a bit more wrinkles by now but was still shepherding his students with the same strictness she remembered him having. Older he might be now, but that didn't mean he had softened up, that was clear.

She was about to walk past the local bakery when she spotted him: Uchiha Sasuke. Every girl's dream boy and her crush since she had turned thirteen and realised that not all boys were annoying. Just the sight of him alone had blood rushing to her cheeks as she realised that the six years she hadn't seen him had been very kind to him. He'd already been pretty handsome just as a teenager, but now he was absolutely drop dead gorgeous; his black blue hair a bit longer now, a side fringe covering one of his eyes while it was still spiked in the back.

He was wearing black jeans and had a leather jacket thrown over a simple white shirt and his attention was on his phone; a slight frown marring his face. His long legs were crossed and he leant against the wall, next to the display window of the bakery, looking like he was waiting for someone. His brother, maybe? Or one of his parents?

Struck by a sudden bout of courage she had never experienced before, she crossed the street and went right up to him, clasping her hands behind her back as she smiled and said cheerfully, "Hello, Sasuke-kun, long time no see."

She held her breath when he glanced up, her blush increasing when recognition flashed up in those deep black eyes.

"Ah, Sakura. It's been a while," he agreed, shutting off his phone and putting it in his pocket.

Inwardly she was screaming and jumping about, stupidly excited that he still remembered her after six years. Sure, they had shared the same class, but she had never been able to count herself to his inner circle of friends – small as that had been back then – no matter how hard she had tried.

"Yes, five or six years or so, right?" she replied, playing it off like she didn't remember the exact time frame. She wasn't that clumsy, overly excited girl anymore and it wouldn't do for Sasuke to dismiss her as just one of his fangirls.

"Hm, think so. You're back in town for good?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the left.

Praying that her face wasn't about to turn a flaming red completely, she answered, "Yes, I just finished my doctor's degree. I can start at the local hospital next week, so I figured it would be easier to move back."

"You got your own place already?"

"No," she admitted begrudgingly, nibbling at her lower lip. A bit embarrassed, she explained, "The housing market isn't exactly kind at the moment, so I decided to move back in with my parents until I've saved enough money to afford a place of my own."

He nodded. "That's a smart move. There's no point in trying to hunt down a place when you can't even afford the down payment yet."

"Exactly," she said, a tad relieved that he understood her. She remembered his family being quite loaded, so he probably didn't have any issues finding a place of his own. "And you? What did you end up studying?"

"A business degree," he answered easily and shrugged. "I don't mind crunching numbers; those make at least sense."

"Did you find a job too?"

"Yes, working at the financial department of my brother's company," he replied and wrinkled his nose slightly, making her inwardly squeal at the absolute adorable picture he was unconsciously making right now. "His company was hiring at the time I graduated and the absolute bastard that he is, he sent in my application without me knowing about it."

"But you ended up working there after all," she said confused.

"Not going to lie, it pays well," he admitted chagrined and then smirked, which did funny things to her lower belly. "And it's a lot of fun being a witness to the multitude of people trying to flirt with him and him trying to remain as polite as possible when rejecting them."

"That's cruel," she giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

He shrugged, looking absolutely unrepentant. "He's the one who started it by sending in my application without asking me about it first."

"Hey, bastard, sorry I'm late. I met Rock Lee on the way here and you know how he is, took me a bit to end the conversation, sorry."

Out of nowhere Uzumaki Naruto showed up, slinging an arm around Sasuke's shoulders and –

_Kissing him directly on his lips._

As she stood there, numb and in shock, he finally took notice of her and blue eyes lit up at the same time a wide grin unfolded across his face.

"Oh hey, Sakura-chan! It's been so long! I didn't know you were back in town!" he exclaimed excitedly and while he pulled away a bit from Sasuke, he still kept his arm around Sasuke's shoulders. "You're done with your medical degree then? Ino-chan told me you were studying to be a doctor, that's so impressive!"

"Erm, yeah, I – I can start working at the hospital next week," she replied weakly; her eyes flitting back and forth between the two men as she tried to make sense of what she was witnessing.

There was no way Sasuke could be gay and with Naruto nonetheless! Sure, somehow those two had ended up as best friends in secondary school – something she still didn't understand -but it was impossible that those two were together! Maybe this was just how Naruto said hello to everyone? He'd always been a rather affectionate guy, she recalled, hanging around his friends' necks or shoulders nearly every day.

"Hey, congratulations with that! I knew you could do it, you've always been a smart one," Naruto laughed.

"Thanks, erm, are you – are you two, you know, together?" she asked, her voice coming out a bit strangled.

"Hm? Oh yeah, since three years," Naruto replied cheerfully.

Well, that was … That was just great, wasn't it?

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me Naruto and Sasuke-kun are a couple?" Sakura demanded hotly the very second her best friend picked up her phone.

There was an audible pause in which either Shikamaru or Chouji said something, before a door closed and Ino asked carefully, _"How did you find out?"_

"I met Sasuke-kun at the bakery this afternoon and Naruto came out of nowhere, kissing him straight on the mouth!" Sakura hissed, kicking her handbag out of the way before dropping down frustrated on her bed.

After Naruto had dropped that particular bomb, she'd excused herself, saying she still needed to buy some groceries and then had basically powerwalked away, pushing back the tears that had threatened to escape back then. She felt so humiliated, knowing that Naruto had somehow managed to snag up Sasuke of all people, while she had done her best for years to be noticed by Sasuke and never getting more out of him than a greeting at best.

What did Naruto have that she didn't? What made him so much better than her? What was she missing?

" _Look, I didn't think it would be such a big deal, all right?"_ Ino had the gall to sigh. _"I thought you'd got over him by now. He usually works during the day, so I didn't even think you would meet him."_

"And that's your excuse for not telling me that Naruto out of all people snatched him up?" Sakura snapped, clenching her free hand into a fist. "What, you thought I would never meet him even though we live in the same damn village?"

" _I didn't keep this news from you on purpose, Sakura,"_ Ino retorted wearily. _"I honestly forgot about it and like I said, I didn't think you were still crushing on him. It's been, what? Six years? You even dated Sai for a couple of years, so I figured you weren't interested in Sasuke-kun anymore."_

"You still should have told me!" Sakura said angrily. "I looked like an idiot in front of them!"

" _I'm sure they didn't think that. They know you haven't been home in a while, so –"_

"Yeah, well, thanks for nothing!" Sakura spat and hung up, slamming her phone down on her nightstand.

Did everyone of their year know that Sasuke and Naruto were together? Was she literally the only one who had been left in the dark? Someone could have told her! It wasn't as if she had completely fallen off the earth during those six years she'd studied at university! Plenty of them still had her number and she had been in regular contact with several of them; what was their excuse?

She would think that the most handsome guy of the village being gay and being together with the class clown would be news worthy enough that they would have informed her about it as well, but apparently she had thought wrong!

"Goddamn Naruto," she muttered darkly, punching her pillow several times. "Like being his best friend wasn't enough already, you had to take this away from us too? Arsehole."

She had never particularly liked him, him being too loud and too fond of practical jokes for her liking, but she found that now she positively _loathed_ him, because he had the one thing she had longed to have for years: Sasuke's love.

It was so fucking unfair that Naruto could call himself Sasuke's boyfriend on top of being his best friend! What a greedy, fucking bastard!

* * *

She threw herself into her work the moment she set foot in the hospital on her first day, needing something to distract her. It helped a bit, even if most of the time the diagnoses she had to make were mundane with a broken arm being the most unusual one during her first week.

Still, it was a distraction and it felt good to help people and be treated as an equal and not as a naïve student they had to keep an eye on. Even better was that she even got to meet the famous Tsunade during her second week. The doctor was known throughout the entire country and even outside the borders as being one of the best the world had seen in generations and Sakura had no problems admitting that it was Tsunade who had partly inspired her to become a doctor as well.

The older woman was a bit more abrupt than she had expected, but given the amount of patients she daily saw – Sakura had seen the towering pile of patient files in Tsunade's office once when she had been on her way to ask another doctor for a second opinion – Sakura thought she could be excused for being more on the curt side. She couldn't imagine how tiring it must be to deal with so many patients every single day. Already there were evenings when she herself arrived home tired and she didn't even have half the amount of patients as Tsunade did!

Still, she fit in well in the hospital even when she was the newbie and she liked her colleagues, appreciative of how easily they had accepted her in the group, in spite of her young age. She had even met a couple of really cute guys as well and she wouldn't mind getting to know them better.

After all, as much as she loathed the fact, Sasuke was no longer single and there was no sense in keeping pining after the guy when he was no longer available. She still harboured a smidgen of hope that Sasuke wasn't gay, but bi, but as long as he didn't break up with Naruto, the question of what exactly his sexuality was, was a moot point.

And so she decided to forget about him and turn her interests elsewhere, in men who were decidedly straight and completely single. She also called up Ino to apologise, feeling guilty for having lashed out at her friend before. True, she'd been angry and humiliated that night, but that wasn't a reason to be angry at her best friend.

Fortunately, they had got through worse arguments before and Ino had no problem forgiving her. Really, she might not be quite so lucky so far when it came to love, but she had scored pretty well in the friendship department, she thought.

* * *

" _Shikamaru is crashing on my couch again,"_ Ino informed her with a sigh.

Looking right and left before crossing the street, Sakura furrowed her eyebrows. "Did Temari-san kick him out again? What, another fight?" Absently she checked her watch, nodding to herself when she saw she still had forty minutes left of her lunch break; that would have to be enough to quickly buy something and eat it before returning to the hospital.

" _Yes, apparently she thinks he's taking too long to propose to her,"_ Ino snorted.

"Why doesn't she propose to him then? She never struck me as someone who's particularly bothered by that." Truthfully, it wasn't as if Sakura knew Temari that well. She'd met her enough times and talked to her frequently enough to be able to read her decently, but that was about it.

Still, Temari didn't look like the type of girl who would be bothered by proposing to her boyfriend instead of the other way around. Actually, knowing Shikamaru, Temari would probably be better off if she did the proposing if she ever wanted to get married. Shikamaru was a great guy, but he was also incredibly lazy and never went out of his way to tire himself out.

Sakura still wasn't sure how exactly Shikamaru had graduated with such high marks, because the guy had been more asleep during their classes than awake.

" _She said that she asked him out on a date first, so now it's his turn to propose to her to make it even,"_ Ino replied and sounded caught between amused and exasperated. _"Honestly, Shikamaru is just being an idiot at this point. He knows what she wants and he wants to marry her too, but he's just lazy as always."_

"Guess it's time to kick his arse in gear again," Sakura laughed, growing even more amused when Ino groaned dismayed.

" _But Temari is his girlfriend, it's her job to kick his arse in gear now!"_

"Obviously that isn't working for her now," Sakura pointed out. "Besides, do you really want him crashing on your couch forever?"

" _Eugh, no. I'm this close to getting a date with that cutie I talked to you about earlier and I can't have Shikamaru being a lazy bum when I bring him back to my place,"_ Ino groused.

"Then you know what to do." Sakura pouted slightly when she was just a few seconds too late and the traffic light jumped from green to red, making her stop. Damn, she should have been a bit faster.

Waiting for the light to turn green again, her gaze wandered across the street as she listened to Ino complaining more about Shikamaru. Her interest was piqued when she spotted a red haired man standing near the dojo, a small bouquet of pink roses in his hand. He was dressed smartly in a grey suit and even from this distance she saw how handsome he was, easily rivalling Sasuke in the regard.

He was most likely waiting for someone, his partner judging by the roses, and she couldn't help but sigh in envy. Man, what she wouldn't give to have a guy waiting for her with a bouquet of roses in his hand … Sai had never been particularly romantically inclined, so she had never received flowers from him.

Not that flowers were an absolute must, but you know, it would have been nice to receive them once in a while, just as a surprise.

The man straightened up and she blinked, her attention automatically turning towards the dojo to find out just who the lucky girl was to have such a great boyfriend.

To her surprise, she saw Naruto leaving the building – did he work at the dojo now or had he been there to train? – perking up visibly when he spotted the red haired man. He hurried over to the other man and she assumed that maybe he was working with this guy's partner and had to tell him that she was running late.

Except that wasn't what he did.

She could only stare stunned, heedless of the light turning green, as Naruto accepted the flowers with a laugh before kissing the man full on his mouth. They stood there, kissing for a couple of seconds, before the red haired man wrapped his arm around Naruto's waist and led him down the street, out of sight once they turned around the corner.

" _Are you still listening?"_ Ino demanded, breaking the daze she'd fallen under.

"Ah, yes, yes, I am, don't worry. Say, do you know whether Naruto and Sasuke-kun broke up?" Sakura asked; her heart pounding in her chest.

" _What? No, not as far as I know. Not unless it happened this morning, because I met them in the store yesterday and they looked okay to me. Why?"_

"Oh, no reason," Sakura murmured, narrowing her eyes.

Well, wasn't this an interesting turn of events?

* * *

**03.26 p.m.**

**Can you come home? It's urgent**

Frowning, he read the message again before standing up and walking out of his office. He nodded absently in greeting to several of his colleagues and went up to the next floor, where his brother's office was located.

"Hey, Rin, is Itachi busy?" he asked the secretary.

She looked up from her computer and smiled, shaking her head. "No, go on. He's just reviewing some paperwork at the moment, though he has an international call in ten minutes."

"Got it, thanks." He knocked on the door and opened it as soon as Itachi's voice rang out, calling him inside.

"Hey, Itachi, would you mind if I go home now?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

Itachi raised his head and blinked, leaning back in his chair. "Any particular reason?"

Sasuke shrugged, his frown deepening. "Not sure, actually. I just got a text, asking if I can come home because it's urgent."

"If it's urgent, you should go," Itachi told him. "Let me know if there's anything you need, all right?"

"Yeah, thanks, will do," Sasuke agreed and went straight back to his own office, logging out on his computer and packing his stuff.

There was nothing flirty about this particular text and that set him on edge, worrying about what exactly had happened for him to text him something like that.

Traffic was slow as always, which didn't particularly help calming him down, and he was this close to punching somebody in the face by the time he turned into the street where he lived and parked on the driveway. Dark clouds were rolling in, promising a heavy bout of rain, and after grabbing his briefcase, he locked his car and hurried into the house.

The briefcase was dumped against the wall for now, and he'd removed his jacket and his shoes as quickly as he did now, barely taking the time to stuff his feet in his house slippers. Both the living room and the kitchen were empty and there was nobody in the garden either, so he walked upstairs, where he saw the faint glimmer of light peeking out from underneath the closed bedroom door.

"I came as soon as I could, what happened?" he demanded, striding into the room.

He came to an abrupt stop when he saw the two men curled up in bed together. Naruto was fast asleep, half buried into Gaara's side, but his eyes were quite puffy and red, as if he had spent quite some time crying. One of his hands was clenching Gaara's shirt tightly and Gaara had his arms wrapped around the blond, caressing his shoulder.

"What happened?" Sasuke repeated his question, this time in a lower voice, and approached the bed silently. "Did he have a bad day?"

"That's a way to call it," Gaara agreed monotonously and nodded at a folded paper Sasuke hadn't spotted before.

It was on the nightstand on Naruto's side and Sasuke raised an eyebrow, walking around the bed to grab it. It was a hand typed letter, he realised soon enough, and the content of it had his blood boiling the second he read it.

_Dear Killer Bee-san,_

_I've read about the values you try to teach your students at the dojo and I'm happy that in this day and age we can still count on people like you to instil the right values in children, as they are our future._

_That being said, I think you will find it very interesting to learn that one of your employees apparently isn't such a fan of these values and leads a rather dissolute life, as you can see in the pictures I've included with this letter._

_Unless one of the values you want to teach your students is that it's okay to cheat on your loved ones and hurt them, you might want to reconsider keeping Uzumaki Naruto as one of your instructors._

_Sincerely,_

_A concerned mother_

The pictures which were mentioned in the letter turned out to be a couple of candid shots of Naruto and Gaara, in which they could easily be seen kissing and holding hands. One picture was of Naruto and Sasuke together, in which Naruto greeted him with a kiss in front of the local bookstore.

"What the fuck is this?" he muttered disgusted, throwing both the letter and the pictures into the trashcan. "Not that it's any of their business, but Killer Bee knows that we're in a relationship, so what's the big deal? What, did he suddenly start having a problem with it?"

If so, Sasuke had no problems going up to the guy and setting him straight.

"He doesn't," Gaara paused and then added, "But some of the parents do. Apparently this _concerned mother_ also sent a letter to several of the parents of the kids Naruto teaches. This time she used less polite wording, however, and basically called him a cheating whore." Green eyes darkened visibly.

Sasuke took a deep breath in an attempt to stave off the growing rage trying to overtake him. "What did they say?"

"The usual stuff when they find out that the instructor of their children is dating two men at the same time," Gaara answered flatly. "That he should be ashamed of himself, that he's an embarrassment and a disgrace and what would his parents think if they knew about his scandalous life?"

"Fuck," Sasuke groaned, sinking down on the bed. He rubbed his forehead, wishing he could wring those bastards' necks.

Naruto's parents had been a sensitive topic ever since he had lost them four years ago when a drunk driver had rammed his car straight into theirs. The impact had been so forceful, the couple had died immediately, leaving Naruto without parents at barely twenty years old.

It had taken months before Sasuke had managed to put a smile back on Naruto's face and three years before the nightmares finally lessened to a more bearable degree. It was partly thanks to Gaara that the nightmares had finally subsided, both his and Sasuke's presence helping to keep them at bay somewhat.

After four years Naruto had finally managed to give the loss of his parents a place and now all his progress might have been undone all because one callous bitch couldn't keep her nose out of their business.

Even if Naruto had been cheating on him with Gaara, that still didn't give that bitch the right to meddle in their affairs like that. It definitely didn't give her the right to try to besmear Naruto's good name at the place he worked at!

"Yeah," Gaara murmured, brushing Naruto's hair out of his face. "He was so upset when he called me that I could barely understand him. I picked him up and brought him home, but I figured he would feel better if you're here too."

"Any idea who's behind the letter?" Sasuke asked grimly and kicked off his slippers, lifting up one side of the blanket so he could slide underneath it, lying down on Naruto's other side. He palmed his hip underneath the blanket, feeling the smooth fabric of his sweatpants when he rubbed his thumb across his hipbone.

"No, it was sent with the mail, so Killer Bee couldn't check the camera outside the dojo and the address on it is fake, so that's a dead end too," Gaara answered, eyes turning half lidded when Sasuke reached out to run his fingers through red strands.

"Pity she isn't as stupid as she sounds in the letter," Sasuke muttered and Gaara hummed in agreement.

They were quiet for a little while, listening to Naruto breathing between them. He was no longer buried with his face in Gaara's shoulder; while his hand still firmly clenched into Gaara's shirt, his head was now turned more towards Sasuke, as if even in his sleep he sensed his other boyfriend was near.

Gaara stirred first. "Something has to be done, though," he murmured; the lamp on the nightstand behind him creating a faint halo around his head. "I talked to Killer Bee before I took Naruto home and he told me he would talk to the parents making that bullshit fuss, but this woman can't get away with this shit. I don't care whether she was trying to do something _good_ , she has no right to stick her nose in our business."

"We'll figure something out," Sasuke promised and let Gaara link their hands together across Naruto's hip. "If need be, I can ask my brother or my mother for help. I'm sure they won't mind helping us with this."

As a matter of fact, mother might even fully delight in finding the bitch who was making Naruto so miserable at the moment. She'd basically adopted him as her third son ever since Sasuke had shown up with his friend at their doorstep at the age of twelve and she had connections throughout the entire village and beyond it even. If someone could find out who this woman was, then it was his mother.

* * *

"Gaara called you, huh?"

The document he'd been reading, was placed on the nightstand before Sasuke turned around, catching listless blue eyes with his. "Well, he texted me."

The man in question was currently downstairs, ordering their dinner. Technically it was Naruto's turn to cook tonight, but given the circumstances, comfort food would be the better option.

"You didn't have to come," Naruto muttered, rubbing his left cheek.

"You were upset, of course I came home," Sasuke retorted and grabbed his hand, tangling their fingers together. "How are you feeling now? Gaara told me what happened."

The blond grimaced and looked away, brushing the back of his free hand over his mouth as if he had tasted something disgusting. "Just … Those parents … They made me think that maybe – maybe I am greedy for, for having you both and that I – I shouldn't have - "

"Hey!" Sasuke cut him off sharply and Naruto flinched, staring at him wide-eyed when Sasuke's fingers dipped underneath his chin and turned his head to face him. "Listen to me: I love you. I love Gaara. If you're greedy for being in love with two men, then so am I and so is Gaara. There's nothing wrong with how we live our lives," he said forcefully.

"But I never wanted to make you feel like you're not - "

"You gave me a choice, remember? You said you would forget about Gaara if I wasn't open to the idea of sharing our relationship with someone else," Sasuke reminded him. "And I decided to give this a try and guess what? I've never been happier. Don't let one bitch ruin what we have; she's not worth it."

"I know, but the parents …"

"Gaara said Killer Bee would talk to them," he reassured him. "And you know how convincing he can be."

"I guess," Naruto mumbled, not looking entirely convinced yet. "I just don't understand why this person would do such a thing. What did I ever do to them that they had to act so nasty?"

"Because she's a bitch," Gaara said bluntly, walking into the room.

"Took the words out of my mouth," Sasuke muttered and Gaara briefly smirked at him, before he sat down on the bed again.

"We'll figure out who's behind this and we'll make sure she won't pull this shit again," Gaara said, finding Naruto's ankle underneath the blankets and giving it a quick squeeze. "I ordered ramen for us; it should be here within an hour. Apparently they're quite backed up in the kitchen now."

"Man, you two willing to eat ramen, what did I do to deserve that?" Naruto joked weakly.

"Don't be stupid," Sasuke sighed and cupped his cheek to kiss him softly. "Just being you is enough."

"I must have freaked you out badly if you're saying mushy stuff like that," Naruto said, inhaling sharply when Gaara kissed the back of his neck.

"What do you say we make you forget what happened today, hm?" Gaara suggested lowly, catching Sasuke's gaze.

"That would be nice," Naruto agreed willingly; a bit of a spark returning to his eyes.

As soon as his sweater was removed, Naruto set about unbuttoning Sasuke's shirt, kissing him with more fire than he'd done at first, humming when Gaara trailed his fingers down his back, kisses following the invisible path the digits took. Sasuke's shirt ended up on the floor, together with Gaara's and those were quickly followed by their trousers, ending up in a formless heap somewhere.

When all three of them were completely naked, Gaara captured Naruto's mouth in a deep kiss, receiving a surprised but pleased moan in return, while Sasuke shuffled lower, dragging his hands down Naruto's sides before grasping his thighs. They quivered slightly underneath his touch and one blue eye peeked down at him before it closed again when Gaara started kissing his neck, his thumb trailing down to rub across one of Naruto's nipples. It pebbled almost instantly underneath his touch and Gaara smirked, pulling away slightly.

"Never fails, hm?" he chuckled lowly, his smirk widening when Naruto huffed and smacked his shoulder.

"Stop being so damn smug," Naruto complained, but he inhaled sharply when Sasuke's lips closed around his cock, sliding down until he was nearly completely in his mouth.

"Oh fuck," the blond whimpered, but whatever he wanted to say next was swallowed up by Gaara's mouth while Sasuke set about making him see stars, throwing every trick he had come to learn in their time together.

When he pulled back, he was careful to not let go completely, curling his tongue around the head and lapping at the slightly salty fluid gathering there, before swiftly going down again; his finger, wet with spit, slipping between Naruto's cheeks and pressing against his rim. He didn't penetrate him completely with his finger, kept the touch purposely light and teasing and was rewarded with a deep shudder going through his lover's body, while muscles clenched around the tip of his finger as if wanting to draw him in deeper.

"Look at how gorgeous Sasuke looks, between your legs," Gaara murmured, one of his hands dipping down to caress Naruto's lower belly. "Doesn't he make you feel good now?"

" _Yes_ ," Naruto hissed, his legs trembling on either side of the dark haired man while unsteady fingers tightened around black locks.

When Sasuke looked up, he met smouldering green eyes and glowing blue eyes; Naruto's cheeks flushed so brightly one might think he was suffering a fever. His chest was heaving up and down, his stomach muscles visibly tensing up when Gaara dragged his hand across it, and from the way his legs rhythmically tightened and relaxed around Sasuke, he knew that it wouldn't be that long anymore before Naruto would come.

"And this is all for you," Gaara whispered, kissing Naruto's neck before nipping playfully at his reddened, swollen lips. "We want to make you feel good, we love doing this with you."

It almost sounded like nonsensical dirty talk, the words used to drive Naruto further insane, but the hidden meaning was obvious. No matter what others would say, no matter how other people would react, the two of them would remain at Naruto's side.

Because they loved him and they wanted him and nobody would be able to come between them.

The sob that tore out of Naruto when he finally came, spilling deep inside Sasuke's mouth, was raw and almost painful; tears making his eyes glisten and his hand scrambled to grab Sasuke's arm when he rose up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Naruto's other hand tightened around Gaara's shoulder and if the fingers digging harshly into his muscles hurt him in any way, he didn't let it on.

"Feeling better?" Sasuke murmured, sliding up to kiss Naruto, letting him taste himself.

Blue eyes stared up dazedly at him. "What – what about you two?" Naruto slurred, obviously ready to give into the exhaustion again.

"We've got ourselves covered," Sasuke chuckled, running his fingers through damp hair. "Don't worry about us, we wanted to make you feel good."

"Oh okay, but – rain check," Naruto mumbled incomprehensibly before his eyes slipped close and he fell asleep.

"Never thought I'd see the day when our stamina would outlast his," Gaara remarked dryly, but when Sasuke looked at him, there was not a hint of amusement left in his face; a frown instead marring it.

"A sign that this is bothering him more than he lets on," Sasuke agreed, leaning back against the pillows.

They were all three quite evenly matched when it came to stamina, but if pressed to answer Naruto was definitely the one who could go on the longest – mainly out of sheer stubbornness if he thought they were challenging him, but still. For him to fall asleep so quickly …

When – not _if,_ _ **when**_ – they found the woman responsible for this bullshit, she would be sorry. She had messed with entirely the wrong people now.

* * *

"Morning, Naruto still asleep?" Sasuke questioned when Gaara entered the kitchen the next morning, his red hair still messed up, sticking into several directions.

"Hm, figured I would let him sleep in; it's not like he has work in the morning," Gaara mumbled and they shared a kiss before Gaara made a cup of coffee for himself. "What are your plans for today?"

"I'm thinking about calling my mother first, ask her if she can help us track down the woman who started this crap," Sasuke answered and sat down at the kitchen table. "Then try to catch Itachi to ask him the same thing before we both have that meeting at ten. You?"

"Was thinking whether I should ask Temari if she had heard something. The coffeeshop is basically the centre of this town, so she might have picked something up," Gaara said and shrugged. "Figured it's worth a try."

"I thought she was thinking about quitting there? You know, because of her fight with Nara?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Gaara snorted and waved his hand through the air. "No, that crisis has been averted _again_. Apparently he had promised to propose to her within the next two months, so all is well again." He rolled his eyes.

"That's a rather specific time frame."

"Supposedly she wouldn't let him back inside unless he gave her a specific deadline. He's so whipped, it's unbelievable."

"If he was that whipped, they would be married by now, don't you think?" Sasuke smirked.

They both were startled by the doorbell ringing and shared a quick glance before Sasuke stood up, putting his mug down on the table. "I'll go see who it is."

There was no stumbling upstairs nor Naruto calling out, so he assumed the blond was still fast asleep as he went to the door to open it. To his surprise, mother stood there, dressed in a thin blue coat and a white dress. Her black hair was pulled up in a loose bun, a couple of strands left free to frame her face.

"Good morning, Sasuke," she smiled, stepping inside when he waved her through.

"Mother, I didn't expect you here this early," Sasuke said surprised. "Or today at all, actually. A special occasion?"

"Hm, I'm meeting some friends out of town today. I'm on my way there, but I thought I would stop by to give you this, so you wouldn't have to make the trip all the way to our home," she said and handed him an envelope.

"What's this?" he asked confused. He'd been living on his own for a while now, so why would any mail addressed to him be sent to his parents' house?

"Got your mail delivered at our home. I'm going to guess that she doesn't know your new address," she replied and put her hands on her hips. "I didn't know you were in contact with that Haruno girl, I thought you weren't that close to each other?"

"Sakura?" He frowned, recalling the pink haired woman he had seen near the bakery that one time.

He hadn't come across his ex-classmate again after that, but that was no surprise given that he worked fulltime at his brother's company and she apparently had taken up a job at the local hospital. What could she possibly have to say to him that she would send him a letter? It wasn't like they had been that close in school either.

"Hm, I didn't know she had returned," Mother remarked.

"Yes, a few months ago. She apparently started working at the hospital," he replied absently, opening the envelope. It couldn't be a love letter – well, he hoped to the gods that it wasn't – because she couldn't be that blind or stupid.

It was something else entirely instead, something that had him seeing red and gritting his teeth, fury boiling in the pit of his stomach.

It was a simple picture, one that showed Naruto kissing Gaara whilst leaning against the car. On the back of it, she had had the nerve to write down,

_Dear Sasuke-kun,_

_I didn't want to show you this in this manner, but I didn't know how else to contact you, so I hope you can forgive me._

_As you can see, Uzumaki isn't exactly that faithful to you as you are to him and I can't stand the thought of him hurting you behind your back. You don't deserve to be cheated on, especially not by the likes of him._

_I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I thought you should know this._

_Sakura_

_P.S. Should you be in need of any discrete testing, just ask for me at the hospital._

"Sasuke, honey, is everything all right?" Mother asked concerned, palming his elbow.

He offered her a terse smile. "Oh yes, perfectly. Thanks for stopping by to drop this off."

She studied him for a moment longer, looked ready to say something else, before she smiled and shook her head faintly. "Of course. It wasn't a problem. I'll see you three this Sunday for lunch?"

"Of course, we'll be there," he reassured her and after a warm hug, she left, getting back in her car and driving off.

"What did Mikoto want?" Gaara questioned curiously when Sasuke walked into the kitchen.

"To drop off some mail meant for me that got sent to their address."

"Who doesn't know that you live here?"

Sasuke showed him the picture first before turning it around so the other man could read the message. "The woman who started this bullshit with Naruto. Guess she's not that hard to find in the end, hm?" he smiled thinly.

Green eyes narrowed dangerously as Gaara pinched the picture between his fingers. "Guess she's _that_ stupid after all," he commented flatly.

"You want to join me when I pay her a visit later today?" Sasuke suggested calmly, but inside he was boiling and he barely restrained himself from shredding the picture.

How dare that bitch think she could stick her nose into their business? That she hadn't been aware of their triad relationship, fine, but instead of asking him about it directly, she had decided that ruining Naruto's career was more important. He might have appreciated her concern if she hadn't dragged the dojo into this. Nothing could excuse potentially ruining Naruto's career, not when she could have talked to them directly about this.

No, instead of out of concern, she had done this because she was a vindictive bitch, who apparently still hadn't got over her crush. She was probably stupid enough to assume that this meant she might have a chance with him.

Well, if she wanted his attention she could get it, but she definitely wouldn't like it.

"Oh definitely," Gaara said, a dark smile slowly unfurling across his face. "This is going to be very interesting."

Sasuke smiled thinly at him.

Very interesting indeed.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun, I got your message. Is there something you need to - " Sakura stopped talking the second she turned around the corner and spotted him together with Gaara. Her eyes widened and she glanced between them, obviously confused.

She was still dressed in her hospital scrubs which wasn't a surprise considering he had asked to meet her in the park next to the hospital. Evening had fallen by now and the lamps above them were automatically turning on, one by one, casting a yellowish pool across the ground.

"What's going on here?" she asked tentatively, halting a couple of feet away from them. She pulled her coat tighter around her, biting down on her lower lip.

"It's very simple," Sasuke said calmly.

Next to him Gaara crossed his arms; looking intimidating in his suit. The look he favoured her with was cold and sharp, assessing her like one would assess a bug.

"I'm going to say this only once, so pay attention," Sasuke continued coldly. "You leave Naruto alone. You dare to come near him or the dojo ever again and I will make you regret it."

"But Sasuke-kun, he's cheat-"

"If Naruto is cheating on Sasuke, then Sasuke is cheating on him too, considering we're together," Gaara cut her off coolly.

"I – I don't understand," she stammered helplessly; her gaze shooting back and forth between them.

"That doesn't surprise me, given how stupid you were with those letters and pictures," Gaara sneered. "Allow me to spell it out for you: Naruto, Sasuke and I are in a triad relationship. Meaning that I'm dating Sasuke and Naruto, Naruto is dating Sasuke and me and Sasuke is dating Naruto and me. We're all together. None of us is cheating on the other one."

"And you would have known that if you had bothered to reach out to me instead of trying to slander Naruto's reputation," Sasuke tacked on coldly.

She reddened, which clashed ugly with her pink hair. "You can't blame me for thinking he was cheating on you when you didn't mention him!" she cried out, pointing at Gaara.

"I can't blame you for that, no," Sasuke agreed and took a step closer. "But I sure as hell can blame you for trying to ruin his career! You had absolutely no right to slander his name and call him a cheating whore to the parents of the kids he teaches! You had no fucking right to try to get him fired for his love life!"

"We're not going to sue you for slander just yet," Gaara commented and she rapidly paled, gaping at him. "But in exchange for that show of mercy, you're going to inform all those parents that you were the one in the wrong and you're going to apologise to Killer Bee for causing those parents to bug him about us. I'd say you should apologise to Naruto too, but honestly we don't want you anywhere near him."

"And the last thing we want is for him to realise just what an utter cunt you can be," Sasuke said bluntly. "Because contrarily to me, he _did_ consider you a friend of his during our schoolyears. Do us all a favour, Haruno, and stay the fuck away from us, because I promise you, next time you try to pull a stunt again, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life."

"Is that clear?" Gaara asked, raising an eyebrow. "I know you're obviously not that bright, but - "

"Yes, it's clear!" she snapped, balling her hands to fists. A wet sheen across her eyes betrayed that she was close to crying, trembling like a leaf in front of them.

"I'm glad we understand each other so well," Sasuke smiled icily.

"You've got exactly one week to apologise, Haruno," Gaara said bluntly. "One week and nothing more. Think you can handle that at least?"

She nodded this time, not saying anything, but she appeared close to bursting into tears at any moment now.

Sasuke didn't care. They had said what they had wanted to say and as far as he was concerned, this was the last time they would ever see each other again.

Honestly, for her sake, it would be best if they never saw each other again.

* * *

"So."

He and Gaara both looked up when Naruto meandered into their bedroom, coming to a halt at the end of their bed. He was only dressed in his pyjama trousers; his nipples pebbled from the chilly air in the hallway.

"Those parents who weren't so happy with me before? They all apologised today, saying it wasn't their business what I did in the privacy of my home." He looked at them expectantly; one eyebrow quirked up.

"I would say that's nice of them, but they shouldn't have said that crap in the first place," Sasuke commented and next to him Gaara hummed in agreement.

"Right," Naruto said slowly and rested his hands on his hips. Tilting his head to the left, he continued casually, "Some of them told me that the woman who had sent them those letters had shown up to explain she'd been completely mistaken."

"Well, look at that, she does possess some shred of intelligence after all," Gaara muttered idly, typing out a quick reply to his sister before he placed his phone on the nightstand, plugging it into the charger.

"And the fact that this woman confessed she'd been wrong – that doesn't have anything to do with either of you two?" Naruto asked, scepticism ringing heavily through his voice.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sasuke retorted airily. "I was at work the whole day, you can check with Itachi. I'm sure that bastard will delight you with a play by play of what I did every hour."

"Same here. Sasori can testify to that," Gaara added.

"You know, I might be blond, but I'm not an idiot," Naruto said unimpressed. "And I can smell the bullshit from here. You two did do something, didn't you?"

"Wouldn't know what you're talking about, truly," the red haired man said bored.

Naruto stood there staring at them for a bit longer, his eyes narrowed slightly, before he released a loud sigh and trudged around the bed so he could climb inside. Shuffling forwards until he stopped between their legs, he leant forwards and kissed them both.

"Whatever you two did, thanks," he murmured. "I appreciate it."

"Like I said, I don't know what you're talking about," Sasuke said lightly, closing his book and putting it in the top drawer of the nightstand.

"You're so full of bullshit, bastard," Naruto grinned crookedly and then his eyes turned half lidded, his fingers fiddling with the V-neck of Sasuke's sweatshirt. "You know, I distinctly remember calling for a rain check the last time."

"You might have mentioned something like that," Gaara said, smiling faintly.

"Well, seeing as it's weekend tomorrow and we don't have anywhere to be …" Naruto trailed off, his smile filled with a filthy promise. "How about you let me cash in that rain check now?"

Like hell either one of them would disagree with that!

* * *

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Sasuke cursed, tightening his fingers around blond hair, pressing Naruto's head deeper down.

Naruto moaned, the vibrations around his cock making Sasuke throw his head back with a bit off groan, and when he opened his eyes again, he caught burning green ones as Gaara bent down over Naruto, fucking him harder.

Hell, if this wasn't a sight he would never grow tired of, Naruto between his legs, sucking him off like there was nothing else in the world he'd rather do, while Gaara fucked him from behind; his hands only occasionally leaving Naruto's hips to stroke across Sasuke's thighs.

It had been interesting, trying to figure out how three people in bed could make it work, but they had quickly got the hang of it and now it felt as natural as it had been when it had still been just him and Naruto.

"Al-most there," Sasuke managed to warn Naruto through gritted teeth, in case he wanted to pull away.

That was definitely not the case as Naruto only doubled his efforts, sinking down even lower around Sasuke's cock, until the tip of his cock hit the back of his throat and muscles tightened automatically around him.

It was over for him when Naruto swallowed deliberately around him, hazy blue eyes locking onto his, and then he was coming, spilling deep down Naruto's throat, moaning his name; his fingers digging like claws in the sheets.

"Shit, you look hot like this," Naruto gasped and fell forwards on his hands when Sasuke pulled his legs away.

He shared a quick kiss with Gaara, whose heavy breathing indicated he wasn't that far behind Sasuke anymore, and then leant down to kiss Naruto deeply, his hand slipping underneath him to close around his dick, which felt hot to the touch and was dripping like mad by now.

"You and your oral fixation," he teased the blond, biting down gently in his earlobe, tugging at it lightly.

"Oh fuck off," Naruto groaned, his hips thrusting out of control as if he couldn't decide whether to press back against Gaara or push into Sasuke's hand.

Sasuke couldn't tell who came first, but he caught Naruto's cry in his mouth and felt a hand clamping down on his shoulder, nails briefly digging into the skin. They fell onto the bed in a tangle of trembling limbs and damp skin, their breathing loud in the otherwise silent room.

"God, I needed this," Naruto sighed, throwing a leg over Gaara's and wriggling an arm underneath Sasuke's back.

"Glad to oblige," Sasuke teased, nuzzling his left temple.

"Best decision I ever made, dating you two," Naruto sighed happily, baring his neck when Gaara kissed him there softly.

Catching Gaara's soft eyes over messy, blond hair, Sasuke smiled. "Yeah, I agree."

They might not have a conventional relationship by society's standards, but it was theirs and that was all that was really important.

Just the three of them together.

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> AN2: SasuNaru is definitely my OTP, but if I have to be honest, I've always got a weakness for GaaNaru too. And when you combine those two, you get this *clears throat* I hope it wasn't too awful!
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> I hope to see you all back in my future stories! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


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